Tough Cookie
by KeyriaLovi
Summary: A human that could possibly take on a vampire? Maybe. What about one that may not want to change, but definitely wants to help kick some booty? Possibly. This story has room for all sorts of possibilities.


Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight; Stephanie Meyer does. Any other recognizable character or place is completely coincidental.

A/N: Okay, so this one is a little different. Hopefully, there will be more than just vamps, humans, and shifters in it but I'm not sure just yet. But, I hope you like it regardless.

My life was never exactly normal. I didn't have the regular childhood where you played with neighbors and went to sleepovers. That just wasn't the way my life had ever been; and it wasn't going to change anytime soon.

My mother left when I was four and my father moved us to a little place in the middle of nowhere, Washington. He was ex-army and a bad-ass. He was a stickler for self-defense and making sure you could handle yourself. I was almost five when the training started.

Everyday for six hours he drilled me on technique and style. He ran me through courses and made me push myself to the limit. When I was ten he bought me my first set of weapons. Knives, to begin with. He taught me how to throw them perfectly; eventually being able to throw and land a perfect stick without even looking. Swords, guns, and other little toys came as I got stronger with my skills.

Besides the weapons, I still had to be physically strong and agile. He enrolled me in ballet; said it would help if I was light on my feet. I took gymnastics too; along with running laps through the woods behind our house. Everything I did in my life was to make sure I was the strongest, fastest, and hardest person I could be.  
Sometimes I think my dad had issues with just being normal, but I could never ask him about it. It wasn't until I was almost nineteen that I actually found out the reason behind everything he had taught me to do.

My world was not as normal as I had thought it was. There was more out there than just people who did things, grew old and left all their stuff to their kids. No, there was a whole other side to life out there that was kinda hidden from the rest of the world. Some people saw glimpses of these things, but usually passed it off as just something weird they saw or actually went crazy believing in it.

Forks was the closest actual town to us, and that was also where I first saw the other side of the world. We were there for a monthly re-stock for the house when I saw them. They were all beautiful, and I was stunned by just how perfect they looked.

I was ready to sum it up that they were just all models or something; until the sun started shining. It broke through the dense clouds and they moved for cover very quickly, but one of them didn't make it quite in time. I actually felt myself gawking as the sun broke across the girl's skin and glittered brilliantly in the sun. It didn't last long, but the sight was something to behold in and of itself.

Once the girl got inside the store with the others, she looked at me. It wasn't a look you give someone when you think they've looked at you; it was a look that told me she knew what I had seen. Her golden eyes pierced into mine as she glared at me, tossing her blonde locks behind her shoulder with flair.

I shook my head and continued with the shopping, keeping the glimmering goddess in my subconscious. Once we returned home and my evenings training was done, I decided to ask dear old dad if he'd ever seen anything unusual in his life.

"Hey dad, did you catch those kids in town today? They looked really put together, didn't they?" I slid into a stool next to him at the table, leaning on my elbows.

He raised his brows, putting the newspaper down as he looked at me.

"Yes, I saw them. They looked pretty normal to me. Wealthy, true, but still just regular kids." He had a crooked smile, the same smile he gets anytime there's more to the story.

"C'mon dad, you know there's something different about them. Didn't you see the blonde when the sun finally started shining?" I was smiling, excited that we were talking about something other than what we were adding to my training schedule.

"I saw her, but I still think they were all pretty normal. Why, Mika?" He crossed his arms, his mouth settling in a hard line.

This is was where it always ended. I ask a question outside of our daily lives and he shuts it down. I took a deep breath and squared my shoulders. I was not backing down on this one.

"Because I saw something that wasn't just my imagination or a trick of the light. The sun hit that blonde girl and I swear to peanuts she glittered! Like, a million little diamonds were in her skin or something; or she had dumped a shit load of industrial strength glitter on her before she left. You can't tell me you missed that." My eyes were wide and I was leaning further over the table.

He sighed deeply and closed his eyes, rubbing the bridge of his nose quickly.

"Mika, you have to understand something. What I am going to tell you is very hard to believe, but it is true. At the same time, you should remember that there are two sides to every coin." He looked at me, making sure I understood what he said.

"Okay, dad. I'll try to think about what you tell me before I decide anything." I hoped my response would be good enough.

"It isn't just that, Mika. You have to promise me that once I tell you this, you aren't going to go trying to find them." He whispered.

My dad never whispers.

"Alright." It wasn't exactly a promise, but judging from his smile it was good enough.

"Okay then. The girl you saw today isn't human. We don't live in the world you think we do. That girl, she's a vampire. So are the others she was with. I would say there are others in the area, as well. A family, of sorts." He looked at me almost shyly, his fingers tapping lightly on the table.

Vampires? There were really vampires out there? The girl I saw glittering today is a vampire? Oh this was just too good to be true.

"You're kidding, right? I mean, vampires don't sparkle. They explode and burn in the sun. This girl was glittering like a pre-schooler's art project and still looked like a goddess." I was close to laughing.

He kept shaking his head, his mouth still in a hard line.

"I'm not kidding, honey. The vampires from the movies aren't close to the ones in the real world. They don't burst into flames, garlic doesn't do anything to them, and I doubt a wooden stake would penetrate the marble-hard skin they have. I wouldn't lie to you about something like this." I could see tears welling in his eyes and I knew he was telling me the truth.

"This has something to do with mom leaving, doesn't it?" I spoke softly.

"In a way, sweetheart. She didn't leave us, honey. She was taken and most likely killed by a vampire." Whispers again.

A vampire kidnapped and killed my mother. They took my mom from me, kept me from knowing who she was.

"They killed her. Vampires are real and one of them killed my mother? Is this why you've trained me like this? Is that what all this was about for all these years?" Now I had tears in my eyes, and I was angry as hell.

"I don't know for sure. I know she was taken by them, but I don't know if they killed her." He sounded choked on the words.

"So, vampires really do exist and one of them took my mother? Something like that girl in town took my mother from us?" I was furious, my hands shaking as they formed fists on my lap.

"Honey, remember what I said about two sides to a coin? The reason I say that is because there are different types of vampire out there. Some of them are good and actually try to live with humans for as long as they can; but there are some that simply don't care about any of it. The ones we saw in town today? Those are some of the good ones." He sighed heavily, one hand reaching across the table for mine.

"Good vampires? How can you tell the difference? And what exactly makes the good ones so much better?" I tried to stay neutral, but I couldn't keep the bitterness out of my voice.

He raised his eyes to mine and smiled.

"Their eyes. The ones like we saw in town; their eyes are golden. They don't drink human blood, they hunt animals. They act as human as they can and they don't think it's right to end a person's life. Those are the good ones. Now, the bad ones have red eyes. Not dark red, but a bright, blood red that you'd notice without even really looking. They drink human blood whenever they can and usually think humans are nothing more than food and don't matter. It was a red-eyed one that took your mother, so please don't hold anything against the others." It was rather cut and dry, but that was dad for you.

I took a second to run this through my head a couple times, nodding as I thought about the details.

"So the ones like we saw today aren't bad. You never did answer my question though. Is this the reason you've had me do all this training and stuff? Because of vampires?" I could handle that they existed and all that, but I really wanted to know why he turned me into this nimble little ninja thing.

"Yes, honey. Once I found out what was out there in the world other than us, I knew I would have to make sure you had a fighting chance. I didn't want you to be defenseless. If we'd known before, your mother would have been just as good. Maybe she would have still been here, too." I looked at him and smiled, moving around the table as I hugged him tightly.

"It isn't your fault, dad. I've got the skills and I know what I'm up against, so there won't be a repeat." I patted his head and looked down at him.

"Mika, you aren't going after anyone. I didn't teach you so you could get revenge or anything. I taught you so you could survive if anything like that ever happened to you. They are incredibly strong and extremely fast, so it wouldn't be a good idea to actually go after them. Besides, it isn't just vampires that are out there." He actually laughed a little and I looked at him.

"Not just vampires? What, are there really flying monkeys out there too?" I smiled down at him, one hand on my hip as I raised my brows.

"No flying monkeys that I've seen. Yet. But there are werewolves." It might have been a little strange, but we finally had something we could talk about that was actually a little fun.

A/N: Here is the first chapter of my other new story. I hope you enjoy and review!


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